


In Dire Need of Alcohol

by krazycoocoo



Series: Fairy Tail Fanfiction [5]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-17 04:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8129839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krazycoocoo/pseuds/krazycoocoo
Summary: When times are tough, Cana Alberona knows only one thing - she is in dire need of alcohol.Cana x Laxus





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! A short, sweet Laxana (Cana x Laxus) story to make your day a thousand times better. One of my favourite pairings from Fairy Tail. Enjoy :)

**;~; IN DIRE NEED OF ALCOHOL ;~;**

**cana x laxus**

**/ c h a p t e r  o n e /**

**:: lucy ::**

**Lucy Heartfilia moaned gently as she massaged the shampoo into her hair.** "It feels so good..." she murmured contently, squeezing her eyes shut and rinsing her hair out. "Man, it feels good to be in your own house." A tiny frown tilted the corners of her mouth as she mulled silently over the fact that Natsu, that annoyingly lovable salmon-haired dragon slayer, was nowhere to be seen. She supposed she should've been grateful - he was always invading her personal space. But lately, she wasn't minding it as much. In fact, in some twisted, satirical way, Lucy found herself looking forward to those moments Natsu and Happy flew through her window, or did weight training in her bedroom. "Hmm..." she muttered thoughtfully as she finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair.

"It's a nice place." A second, definitely feminine voice pierced her thoughts, and Lucy smiled smugly.

"Isn't it?" she answered proudly. A moment passed, before the oblivious Celestial Mage's eyes shot open and she glanced frantically at the bathtub.

"Maybe I should live here, too." Cana Alberona pondered, her face the picture of sullen despair.

Lucy shrieked, her hands flying up to her noticeably bare chest, as she glared half-heartedly at the older Card Mage. "This is...my house..." she sputtered uselessly, as she watched Cana flick water onto the bathroom tiles.

"Lucy, don't you have alcohol?" The brunette inquired blankly, hands around her own bare chest. "Alcohol." She repeated.

The blonde-haired female in question simply tilted her head, watching the older female stare sullenly at the walls in front of her. Lucy switched off the shower head and lowered herself cautiously into the spacious bathtub, wrapping her arms around her knees and bringing them up to her chest. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. "You look a bit depressed."

"No...it's nothing..." Cana answered, and Lucy stared back at her, unconvinced. "Do two people usually get in the bathtub?" The older brunette added, and Lucy spluttered, cheeks flaming.

"Do people enter other people's houses without asking?!" She retorted, ducking her head a little.

Cana smirked a little, before sighing heavily and leaning her head against the edge of the bathtub. "How are things going with your father, ever since that incident?"

The golden-haired Celestial Mage's head shot up at the sudden question, before she shrugged. "I suppose it's...well, we haven't really contacted each other," she amended quickly, staring down at the water. Cana hummed in response, before exhaling wearily. "What is it? If you have something on your mind, I'd be glad to hear it out," Lucy told her sincerely.

Cana stood suddenly, and the bath water sloshed clumsily around her. "I..." she hesitated. "I am thinking about quitting the guild."

Her golden-haired friend found herself standing as well. "What?!" Lucy shrieked, for the second time that morning. "You can't just..." she stuttered. "You can't just  _quit the guild_!" The older brunette wrapped a towel around her torso and Lucy copied her movements, before she guided Cana to a seat on her bed and sat carefully beside her. "Why, anyway?"

The brunette rolled her shoulders and exhaled heavily. "A lot of reasons, Lucy." She muttered ambiguously, and Lucy rolled her eyes slightly.

"Like...?" She prompted, nudging Cana's shoulder delicately. "Is it the S-Class Examination?" Cana's head snapped up, her eyes wide, and Lucy laughed slightly.

"H-how...?"

"Mirajane was telling me about it; how everyone is always getting jobs so that Master and the other S-Class Mages will pick them for the exam...but that's not it, is it?"

Cana sighed again, and turned her head to look properly at Lucy. "No," she confirmed quietly. "I get picked almost every year for this exam...it doesn't matter much to me whether I pass it or not." The brunette shook her head slowly. "That is not right to say...as long as Gildarts is proud of me, I don't need the flashy title."

Lucy smiled fondly at her friend, before frowning again. "So what is the real problem?"

Cana flushed slightly, turning her face away from Lucy, before muttering, "I...I don't know..." The older Fairy Tail wizard paused, biting her lip uncertainly, before finishing, "I don't know how to fulfil my dream."

"Your...dream?" Lucy repeated slowly, and the brunette nodded.

"My dream." She confirmed. "I dream for a lot of things, Lucy - everyone does. I dream that I can have work, that I can make Gildarts proud, but...there's one dream I'm terrified of losing. The dream of love."

Lucy frowned. It was so unlike her alcoholic friend to seem so utterly... _sober._ "Something tells me there's someone you do love." She observed the Card Mage as her eyes went wide and she choked silently, a tiny smile pulling up the corners of her lips.

"Gildarts..." Cana hesitated, squeezing her eyes shut. "Let's just say, Gildarts is not the only powerful man I want to make proud."

Realisation hit, and the golden-haired woman sitting beside her shot up out of the bed and stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, at her powerful friend. "No...don't tell me..." she muttered. " _Laxus?!"_

Cana immediately followed suit, clamping her slender, tanned fingers over the Celestial Mage's mouth. Glare focused entirely on the said woman's guilty features, she snapped, "there's no need to be so fucking  _loud._ "

The blonde muttered a quick apology, watching as Cana sunk into a cross-legged position on the carpeted floor. "I would never have guessed..." Lucy mumbled, before amending hurriedly, "I did wonder about some of the looks he gave you," she pondered, to which her friend snorted.

"Trust me, Lucy, they were nothing but looks of disgust. I...being in love with somebody like him...it's like I know I'd never be good enough for him. I'm not powerful enough, I'm not beautiful enough. He...he deserves the entire universe, and I could never give it to him." Cana muttered bitterly, finally turning her face up to Lucy, tears swimming in her pained chocolate gaze.

Lucy sat herself down beside her friend and pulled the brunette into a tight hug. "That's not true, Cana," she told her firmly, grasping her shoulders. "If even  _you_ aren't powerful, if even  _you_ aren't beautiful, then there is no hope for the rest of us. You are amazing, Cana, and whoever doesn't realise that sure as  _Hell_ doesn't deserve you." She finished, eyes ablaze with passion, and Cana hiccuped slightly, tear-tracks staining the tan skin of her cheeks.

"Arigato, Lucy," she murmured, before leaning into the Celestial Mage's shoulder and letting her eyes drift shut. "Even if that's just a lie."


	2. Chapter 2

**;~; IN DIRE NEED OF ALCOHOL ;~;**

**cana x laxus**

**/ c h a p t e r  t w o /**

**:: cana ::**

 

**"Hell, woman, it's not even noon, and you're already drunk off your ass?"** An amused male voice thrummed behind her.

Cana Alberona pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "You better shut your fucking mouth, Dreyar," she snapped.

"There ain't shit you can do to me," Laxus responded calmly, and Cana twisted her head to face him and that stupidly smug smirk sitting right in place on a certain Fairy Tail wizard.

"There will be, if you don't wipe that shit-eating grin off your face,  _dick._ " She bit back, words harsh and voice bitter.  _There ain't shit you can do to me._ No, there really wasn't. And it was stupendous of the intoxicated Card Mage to even think about trying.

"Oh, hit a little too close to home, did I?" The Lightning Dragon-Slayer inched closer, a sneer twisting his sculpted features.

Her heart thumped violently in her chest at his sudden proximity.  _Hell to the fucking no, Cana._ Slamming her empty mug on the table, she slid off her seat delicately. "Fuck off, Dreyar," she responded wearily. How she hated him and his ability to read her fucking mind. She was the one with the fucking cards! Irritation and defeat simmered in her gut as she pushed open the guild doors, carelessly slamming them shut behind her, and made her way to the nearest bar. 

Three hours later, Cana, slumped in her seat, sighed heavily. "Fucking Dreyar," she murmured for what felt like the millionth time that day, her words slurred with the hours of endless drinking. "Fucking asshole."

"Boyfriend dump you?" Cana turned her head slowly and paused to observe the man slumped beside her. He seemed strangely familiar, and she caught a flash of green when he pulled the hood of his jacket over his hair.

A scoff forced its way out of her throat.  _Boyfriend? If only._ "Who the fuck needs a boyfriend?" Her companion hummed in agreement.

"Guys, man. They ain't nothing but trouble." The man agreed, and if Cana wasn't so fucking _drunk_ maybe she would have asked him about the bitterness, the  _hurt,_ in his voice. But, as it was, the Card Mage was, quite literally, drunk off her ass.

"Nothing but fucking trouble," she repeated. "Especially the dumb ones."  _Particularly the dumb one with the ego bigger than the size of fucking Edolas and the face that's so damn beautiful it hurts to look at._

Her companion coughed suddenly, throwing a hand up at the bartender. "It's always the dumb ones," he muttered, tilting the last drops of alcohol back before sliding his empty mug across the bar. "Want my advice?" He added, throwing some jewels down and standing, and the Fairy Tail wizard was tempted to say no, seeing as they were both drinking their asses off. "Don't wait for them to make the move."  

The curvaceous brunette threw back the contents of her mug, mulling silently over the advice, before throwing a couple of jewels down and following her mysterious matchmaker out the door of the bar. When she finally arrived back at the guild - it had taken her  _much_ longer than expected to stumble down the main road of Magnolia and around the corner - Laxus Dreyar was nowhere to be seen. With a sinking feeling Cana  _refused_ to describe as disappointment, she sauntered up the bar and managed a sloppy salute at the white-haired demon girl on the other side of the counter.

"Hey, Mira, you seen Laxus anywhere?" Ignoring the knowing twinkle in her friend's demonic eyes, she added, "gotta get him back for basically calling me  _weak._ "

"Oh, I'm sure you do." Mirajane responded calmly, and Cana couldn't even manage half a glare at the guild's resident matchmaker. "Anyway, he left pretty soon after you did."

"He hasn't come back yet?" Cana pressed, concern bubbling in her gut.

"No," Mirajane confirmed. "But this _is_  Laxus we're talking about. He'll be fine." Cana nodded slowly in response, and Mirajane added quickly, "you can always go looking! I think he said something about Magnolia Park..." The excitement in the white-haired girl's voice seemed hard to conceal, and the brunette settled for a quick eye-roll.

"I think I'll pass," Cana responded sarcastically, biting back a harsher remark and sliding onto a stool. "Gimme a barrel, will you?"

The white-haired S Class Mage frowned slightly at her friend. "You really should stop drinking so much, Cana," she murmured hesitantly. "Why do you do it, anyway?"

"None of your fucking business," the brunette spat reflexively, before sinking in her seat and exhaling shakily. "I just...it's easier to forget, this way."

"What do you need to forget?"

The Card Mage frowned heavily and shook her head twice, chocolate curls falling around her bare shoulders. "Everything. Nothing. Fucking  _life,_ Mira. It's always out to get me, isn't it?" Ironically, Cana Alberona had never felt more fucking  _sober_.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air around the two, before Mirajane muttered quietly, "I really think you should talk to Laxus."

"Fucking  _Hell,_ Mira, if this is another one of your shitty attempts at matchmaking, I swear to fucking  _God_ -"

"That's not why!" The oldest Strauss sibling cut in frantically, shooting apologetic glances around the guild hall. "I just have this feeling Laxus would understand." At her friend's inquisitive glance, Mirajane finished slowly, "Laxus would understand your pain. Your loneliness. You two have a lot more in common than you would believe, Cana, and I truly believe it would do you at least some good to talk to him."

The younger brunette flinched. "Even so, Mira...it's too hard for me to talk to him like I don't fucking  _care._ There ain't no fucking potion that can cure this messed up chick and her messed up feelings."

Mirajane sighed in response, shutting her eyes for a second. "Don't let him get to you, Cana," she murmured, giving the brunette's clammy hand a sympathetic squeeze. "Sometimes, there are certain people who simply aren't meant for you."

"No fucking way, Mira." Cana snapped, pulling her hand back quickly. "There's no fucking way you can just say that. Do you even know how much I love the fucking guy?!"

"Too much, Cana," the older S Class Mage replied firmly. "You're tearing yourself apart, and I cannot bear to watch it."

"You don't fucking have to!" The Card Mage bit back, shooting up from her seat, mind incredibly,  _unbearably_ clear. "I don't need your fucking help, Mira," she continued, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "I don't need  _anyone's_ help."

"That's just your problem!" Mirajane retorted sharply, not missing a beat. "You  _never_ need anyone's help! For once, can't you just accept that there are some things that are  _out of your reach?"_

"Not this, Mira." The brunette argued. " _Not this."_


	3. Chapter 3

**;~; IN DIRE NEED OF ALCOHOL ;~;**

**cana x laxus**

**/ c h a p t e r  t h r e e /**

**:: cana ::**

**It was funny how the things a person could see when they were drunk could be so much more beautiful than reality allowed.** She supposed this was one of the many reasons she preferred the vague pleasure of intoxication. Reality was too fucking cruel for her. Reality, with its fucking mind games and teasers. A wry smile lifted the corners of Cana Alberona's lips as she took another swig of the vintage wine in her hand. 

"Gomena, Gildarts." She murmured gently, eyelids heavy as she stared up at the sky. "I've made some bad choices." 

The bottle in her hands suddenly became incredibly heavy, and the brunette unravelled her clammy fingers from around the bottleneck, carelessly letting it drop to the ground. The sky over Magnolia Park was almost unbelievably beautiful at this time of day, and the Card Mage wondered if anyone even a drop more sober than she would have had time to notice the gorgeous little tufts of purple and pink, winding around each other in gentle rivulets and meeting in spontaneous bursts of colour. 

"I've hurt some people. Some people close to me," Cana continued jerkingly. "I've done some...some  _unforgivable_ things, Gildarts."

Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought back the tears burning the back of her eyes like there was no tomorrow. She refused to be weak. Pain constricted her throat and Cana gasped softly, sticking her first over her mouth and trembling from the pressure, shoulders shaking, chest heaving. And yet, the tears did not come.

"I forgive you, Gildarts," she finally muttered, letting her shaky hand fall to the ground. "I know you will give up on me -"

"If you think that, then you have never met Gildarts." An achingly familiar male voice broke her train of thought, and Cana shut her eyes, refusing to face the bane of her existence. It was suddenly incredibly hard to breathe.

"Can you not find someone else to fucking annoy, Dreyar?" She muttered bitterly, dropping her head into her hands.

The sudden warmth beside her made the Card Mage glance up. "Mirajane isn't angry, Cana." Laxus informed her, eyes scrutinising the horizon, expression as unreadable as ever. The gentle affection in his voice made her hairs stand up on end, and she shifted away from him slightly, unsure what to make of his sudden quiet.

"She damn well should be," Cana responded sharply. 

"She's just worried about you," the Lightning Dragon-Slayer confessed, turning his head slightly to look at her. "We all are." Guilt crept over the brunette.

"I'm not fucking worthy of her worry," she snapped back, ducking her head a little.  _Or yours._

"Don't think that." He cut in firmly, and she twisted her head to look at him, chocolate curls falling down her back. "There is nobody worth worrying over more than you, Cana Alberona." A light smirk dusted across his lips, but his serious onyx gaze held her captive.

A light flush crept to her cheeks, and Cana immediately turned her head, dropping her eyes from Laxus' delectable features.  _Fucking alcohol, always making me blush._ Belatedly, the Card Mage realised Laxus' hand had found its way to hers, and their fingers lay intertwined on the grass. Strangely enough, she didn't mind. "The fuck are you talking about?" She retorted, resting her chin on her knees. "Stop spurting bullshit at me, you asshole."

"It's true, Cana," he finally responded, twisting around to face here, jaw set. "Is it that hard to believe? That people worry about you because you're worth it?"

"Yes! No. I don't -" Her voice broke, and she sniffled pathetically. "I don't fucking know, okay?" Her fingers had found their way back to the refreshingly cool bottleneck of the vintage wine, and she lifted it to her mouth to take a swig.

Laxus got there much quicker, long fingers prying the bottle away gently. Cana didn't even resist, eyes scanning his features curiously. "She's right, Cana," the well-built, blonde man beside her finally said. "You're tearing yourself apart."

The brunette slammed her forehead into her palm. "You don't know shit about that," she responded, hating her voice for quivering.

"Maybe not, but I'm sure it's painful for everyone to watch." Why did he have to be so fucking logical all of the time? "Everyone cares about you, Cana."

Cana pulled her fingers from his grasp and turned to face him fully. Challenge flared in her eyes, and in a dangerously low voice, she said, "and what about you, Laxus?" She paused, bit her lip, and added, "do  _you_ care about me, too?"

The Lightning Dragon-Slayer hesitated, and pain constricted her throat.  _Fuck, Laxus, what are you doing to me?_ "Of course. I care about all the guild members," he finally answered vaguely, refusing to make eye contact with her.

 _Fuck it. All or nothing, right, Gildarts?_ The brunette stood clumsily, propped her hands on her hips and said, "fuck, Dreyar, you know that's not what I mean." Laxus opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off quickly, "and it's fucking...it's whatever, because I always knew not to expect a straight fucking answer from you."

"So what the Hell do you want me to say?" He retorted, getting to his feet and towering over her. "That you can't love me because all I know how to do is hurt people?"

She fell back a couple of steps.  _Shit, I can actually feel my heart breaking._ "What-fucking-ever," Cana hissed. "You could've said that fucking  _months_ ago, instead of fucking letting me just...leading me on!"

"I was  _not_ leading you on." Laxus responded, and she hated, absolutely  _despised_ how calm he could be.

"So, what, you actually fucking like me?" She retorted, watching him gulp slowly. "Yeah, that's what I thought."  _Fucking Hell, Cana, you're so goddamn naive._

"Cana." Laxus said firmly, and she paused, back turned to him, already distancing herself from him.  _There goes the pain._ "Maybe I do actually care for you, but you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"What kind of a shitty excuse is  _that?"_ She snapped, turning around and glaring at him.

A sheepish smile lifted the corners of his lips, and he muttered, "sorry."

"Shut the fuck up, Laxus," she responded, taking the few steps to close the gap between them. "And answer me honestly - do we even have a fucking chance?"

"I don't know," he responded without hesitation. "But why don't we figure that out together?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters used. Inspiration from this chapter is from Chapter 201 of the manga.  
> I hope I did the pair justice, and please leave kudos <3 if you liked it!  
> > krazycoocoo


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